camping

Daren was in a little bit of a panic this summer because we haven't done any camping and it is already the end of July (Oh? I didn't even notice:). So he planned a quick trip for us with his brother Brad and Tifani. We went to Silver Creek Plunge which was about 2 hours from here. It was good. There was a hot spring, nothing comparable to Lava hot springs in south east Idaho but, never the less, a warm body of water to sit in and enjoy. The kids loved it and the shallow end covered more than a quarter of the pool. So we could just sit and watch out kids play. The girls were drawn to 2 things, the nasty bathrooms and the dirt hill across from our campsite. I don't understand what it is about bathrooms but they always always have to use them. I stopped counting after a few hours of how many times I had to frequent the port-a-potty. Someday I will track this but right now is it just so frustrating. Even if I make them all go still 20 minutes later someone has to go so bad and can't hold it another second. Next the dirt hill; they spent the whole 2 days whenever we were in camp climbing that thing and sliding down on their bums. Soooo dirty but they really enjoyed themselves.

Max was just filthy I could not stop saying "you are so dirty!" He loved it though.

To start things

of he

fell right

on his

head in the dirt.

no

owie

just

dirt.

We played in the creek

Rode bikes. Since I didn't bring mine Max was kind enough to give me a pump.

Made and ate S'mores

and just got DIRTY. But luckily dirt washes off (after a few baths).

No one got lost or badly hurt so it was a successful trip.

So before we leave I get us all packed and start to feel guilty that I haven't cleaned the turtles tank in a week and a half and it is disgusting. So I clean it "quickly." I say it like that because I just wasn't thinking. Nothing is quick when Max is awake and I am distracted from him. He thought this was a fantastic idea. He kept handing me the turtles stuff SALMONELLA!!! Is all I kept telling him. So I am down to the last thing. Filling it back up. To do this I use a big orange water jug fill it upstairs in the bath tub and carry it down stairs to dump in the tank, 2 or 3 times. So I am filling it for the first time and I think I left the thermometer where Max can reach it! He is going to break it and cut himself and get mercury poisoning all at the same time! Just then I head Lizza yell MOM in her scared panic voice. As I am running downstairs, towel in hand to stop the gushing blood Max lets out a loud cry that had caused him to hold his breath for some time. Then I come into the room....no blood! What happened Max picked the turtle up out of the box and was holding it by its legs, It bit him. Lizza walked in to the turtle clamped down on Max's finger and he was pulling it by the leg trying to get it off. Which he did just as Lizza reached him. He immediately threw the turtle. So at this point I say where the turtle? (great we lost the turtle right before we leave on vacation fantastic that will smell real nice when we get home.) But it was right under the desk upside down in its shell. Traumatic for Lizza and Max and I did hate that turtle again for a good 15 minutes but then it was just funny. Rewriting it makes me laugh all over. He has a sour on his finger and I was again afraid of the Salmonella. But so far so good. So at this point I am thinking this is blog worthy. So here's the picture. It is the best I could get. He wasn't to thrilled about me taking the picture.

disclaimer

Okay the comments are to positive I guess. I need to make clear that I am not that great. We have fun but there is still a lot of lecturing and wasted time. Daren will testify that our house is never clean, even though they do their chores, (which sometimes take us all morning because of lack of focus and motivation). I was writing this as possibly a starting point for someone to move from. I have recently looked at a few blog that had their daily schedule and I love hearing what others do, so hence my post. Moving on, last night Meg said the dinner prayer and she said, "Heavenly Father please, please, please bless that I will be able to read right now while I'm four." She has high aspirations that girl. We had spaghetti for dinner, one of Megs favorites. She can eat at least 3 bowls of it on top of the salad and bread we usually have with it. I would like everyone to just look at these pictures; This happens on a daily basis so I forget how quirky it is. So I thought it should be documented. Everyday at some point in the day when Lizza needs some down time she goes into my bathroom and takes out every bottle that is in there. She lines them up, puts them in groups, moves them around and sometimes even plays as though they were people. (seriously why do I buy toys?) Almost everyday after school last year she would come home and while I made lunch she would go in and do her thing. I can't figure out what is calming about it. It rarely gets put all back where it belongs but such is life. At least she's happy right?

still alive

Since the 4th of July vacation it seems like we have just been recovering. Nothing real exciting is going on plus I haven't found time to post. Daren has now officially been through or is just finishing "busy time" at work. It is very manageable. He has worked the last 2 Saturdays and worked longer hours but nothing compared to Deloitte. Maybe it helps to know it isn't going to last 3 1/2 months too. But because of the working we haven't really been doing much. So for this blog I thought I would add some pictures of what we have been doing to "take care of ourselves". I started doing this 3 years ago after my sister in law gave me the idea and we have had fun with it. We take care of our bodies, space, minds, and spirit. So for bodies we have been doing ballet class (at home taught by me:) Max seems to be partial to tap. If he sees these shoes lying around and there is no ball around to distract him he wants them on. We have been making obstacle courses in the back yard, kick ball, tennis (again very informal taught by me on the patio) to name a few. Next taking care of our space is when we do our chores for the day. Spirit: We sing a song and have family prayer. Then we have been working on the articles of faith for the summer. Meg has the first 2 down, Lizza is working on #4, and Abby #6. To do that we sing the song that goes with each one and repeat the words a few times. I am trying to memorize the proclamation on the family. My hope is that by hearing me repeat it to them a couple of times each morning they will remember parts too. Mind: For this we are focusing on Geography, math, reading, science. For geography we are trying to learn the song fifty nifty United states http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivpUBvOeD1s we have worked on north/south/east/west, where the equator is and drew maps to "treasures". We have been picking random countries to study about which everyone has liked. We first did China and they were fascinated with it all until we watched a clip from National Geographic about using bee stingers to help cure certain things and make them look younger. ( I didn't click on it Abby did) Now none of them want to visit. For math we have done simple equations with different objects, problem solves(puzzlers paradise.com) thanks Nicole, we read a book about fractions and used a Hershey candy bar to make the fractions, things like that. For reading it's individualized to each child and I do one on one time with each. For science we have been talking about Weather lately. We learned about rain, how clouds are formed, the different kinds of clouds, how lightening is created, and thunder. Then about Hurricanes and tornado's. Our different kinds of clouds. Before Weather we talked about the solar system. We learned about the order of the planets (my very excellent mother just served up noodles)(mars, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune.) Then they picked planets and made reports on them. After we did a couple of reports we made the solar system out of Styrofoam balls. It was fun and they still won't let me throw it away so it just sits on my dresser in our room. Meg is trying to show that she painted the sun. It has really been fun and keeps us busy so I don't have to hear or deal with I'm board very much. Other than that Max has picked up a new favorite past time besides the outside. He says basketball, which almost sounds like Grandpa but you can hear the b sound mixed in there and you know he means ball. But he likes to play basketball with a football. If you will appease him you with have to throw him the ball, he'll pass is back to you, then you pass it back he runs away then makes a basketball. I downloaded my latest pictures and I have 16 pictures of him playing this. So obviously it is all he does these days. The good thing is it keeps him occupied I guess. This past Sunday Daren was released as the Elders Quorum president after 3 years and I was released from primary after almost 6 years. Daren was called in the young men's as the priest advisor and me as the enrichment leader. I am terrified. I have loved primary and am very comfortable there. The leader before me is incredible! She does everything so nicely and just really adds the finishing touches on everything to make is nice. I on the other hand don't even think about the finishing touches, usually I forget to put on a clean shirt let alone flowers for the tables! So I am a little freaked out. This is out of my area. Daren on the other hand is ecstatic! I think he has wanted to be in young men's for a long time and now he will probably be there a long time too. Totally random but I think these post are more for me than anyone else so I am just purging all the info I have been storing in my brain until I could record it somewhere. Megan told me about a week ago she is going to be a doctor. I asked her what kind and she said a surgeon. I said oh you have to have a steady hand to do that I could never be a surgeon. She asked what that meant and since I explained it she holds out her hands every once in a while and says "look mom I'm steady still so I can cut people open." She also has been making me come in and dry her hands after she washes them (no hepatitis thank goodness). she holds them up so the water drips down her arm and off her elbows to the floor. She informs me doctors don't dry their own hands and I have to pretend to put gloves on her when I'm done! My life has come to this, I am Megs "pretend assistant" and I love it. She cracks me up.

the car ride

How could I forget the car ride! So picture this if you can. We drove from Boise to Idaho Falls to Driggs then to Idaho Falls back to Boise. Max didn't sleep a wink! It was long. Oh and our Dvd player didn't work for most of the drive. Great experience.

We went back to Grandma and Grandpa Wallace's and they took care of us. She showed Lizza her spoons she collects, which Liz loves to look at. She gave all 3 girls pedicures. They loved it.

4th of July

Next to Christmas this is my favorite holiday and this year didn't disappoint. I am so grateful to live in this free country. We try to impress this on our children how lucky they are but I am pretty sure they don't quite get it, even I don't fully comprehend what we have here. But never the less I am grateful. The National anthem always makes me fight back tears yet I love hearing it and singing along with all the other patriotic music.

This year we went to Driggs Idaho to visit our good friends the Bennetts. It was so fun to just visit but that is not all. We hit the Driggs parade which gave out a whole sack of candy, collected by Abby. Lizza and Meg got to be in the parade because Hal was driving a golf cart in it. So they got to throw suckers. Lizza told me afterwards "now I know whats it's like to be in a parade, I have always always always wanted to be in a parade and now I have. And you know what mom, It's GREAT!" So thanks Hal for fulfilling on of Lizza's many dreams. We went to Jackson for the afternoon and hiked from Jenny's Lake to inspirational point. I think it was 2 miles round trip. Maybe a little more. We had to catch a ferry to take us across the lake to start our hike. It was so beautiful and cool. The kids were troopers. I use that word because on the hike meg asked me what that meant. After I explained it she was giving me examples. Like I am a trooper because I change max's diapers and they stink. Grandma Wallace is a trooper because her leg hurts her and she stills walks. Dads a trooper because he makes money for us to spend. So she's got the meaning of the word down. At one point we were ready to turn around because Max was getting sick of the backpack and the last part was pretty rocky and steep. But Abby convinced us otherwise (sorry Bennetts) and we pressed on. It was fun. We then went back to Driggs for fireworks. They were actually not to bad. It was a good 20 minutes of fire in the sky. Lizza has decided they are scary so she watched from the car. I failed to mention that in Driggs they are so organized that they set the fireworks off at the drive-in and had everyone park in this field of hay behind it. So they were right overhead but you were buried in hay. Fantastic.

Daren got in 2 mountain bike rides, which he loved, to top it off. That part of Idaho is so beautiful. It always takes Daren a few weeks to recover and come to terms with the fact that we can't move there.

the parade

only

half

way

up

the top

of our

hike!

I can't

figure

our what

part of don't

touch the animals

they can't understand.

Meg caught

red handed!

hepatitis?

Okay really quick because I am supposed to be packing and cleaning so we can leave this afternoon. So we have a problem in our house. Unfortunately it has been going on for quite a while. It is that Abby and Lizza rarely flush the toilet. Meg flushes all the time, she is quick to remind us every time we have a discussion about it. So a few days ago Daren took it on as a cause again. He told the the top 2 reasons the they should flush. 1st it's disgusting and rude etc. 2nd "Hepatitis, and that is not cool." I had to turn around so no one saw me laughing. Your right hepatitis not cool. So he had them discuss it and come up with a suitable punishment since none of the the ones we dished out seem to be an incentive. So the argued about it for awhile and decided that if they don't flush they can't play with the neighborhood friends for the day. If it is after 4:00 in the afternoon then it counts for tomorrow. We'll see. For any of you who want to come visit don't be afraid. Visitor stay downstairs and they don't use that toilet while we have visitors. And hopefully we won't pass on hepatitis.